


Swan Song

by CaptainTink (orphan_account)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Captain Swan - Freeform, F/M, Swan Song, Tragic Romance, captain tink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-10
Updated: 2013-03-10
Packaged: 2017-12-04 22:23:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/715753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/CaptainTink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One Will Die. Hook has returned to Storybrooke and is determined to get back at Emma for leaving him in New York and for stealing his ship, yet the sight that meets him when he's about to approach the Swan girl was absolutely not what he had expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Swan Song

**Author's Note:**

> This marks my very first Captain Swan fanfiction and hopefully not my last either!  
> I came up with the idea for this fanfic after hearing talk about tonight's episode; The Miller's Daughter. I got inspired by the whole talk about "One Will Die", since Emma was actually a valid option according to the tweets. 
> 
> And when I read that, I just sorta got the idea for this fic; the idea that, what if Emma is/was in fact the one to die? And since I am a great fan of Captain Swan, I wanted to put down Hook's reaction of all, just to play with the thought of their relationship and what he would do if she was indeed going to die. I hope it's not that much of a tear-jerker, no matter how much it was intended to be one. 
> 
> The title was inspired by the metaphorical phrase of the same name as well as the madrigal "The Silver Swan" by Orlando Gibbons.
> 
> I did intend for this piece to be longer, but seeing as I was under a bit of time-pressure, wanting to get done before the Miller's Daughter aired, I had to go by it a bit faster than originally intended.  
> As of yet, I'm still conflicted with whether or not this should be a continued work or merely a oneshot, I'll let the audience decide on that.
> 
> At the very least, I hope everyone will enjoy this!

The silver Swan, who living had no Note,  
when Death approached, unlocked her silent throat.  
Leaning her breast against the reedy shore,  
thus sang her first and last, and sang no more:  
"Farewell, all joys! O Death, come close mine eyes!  
"More Geese than Swans now live, more Fools than Wise.

“Swan! I swear; we are not done with each other!” Hook shouted as he barged through the door of Mr. Gold’s shop; he had thought an entire angry speech out which he was gonna get straight to the Swan girl for abandoning him and knocking him out once again. He had it all planned out in detail, except for the sight that met him as he marched into the store.

Emma was there indeed, just like he had been informed, along with her parents, her son and more importantly with the two loathsome women; Regina and Cora.

Regina, he did not give a single damn for, however Cora was a great importance right now; she was standing before Emma and her son, Henry, hand extended towards them in a threatening manner. A sickeningly purple glow emitted from Cora’s palm, an obvious sign that she was about to deal a finishing blow.

Emma was clutching a sword fiercely with one hand making it tremble; the other was protectively wrapped around Henry. She was out of breath; gasping for air, indicating she had fought with the witch only moments ago.

“Oh, I think you two are very much done with each other, Captain.” Cora stated in her regular scornful tone of voice.

“Hook,“ Emma spoke in a shaky voice like a cry for help; she had never wanted his help or his understanding back in the Fairytale Realm. But here she was; she and her family threatened with death by the woman he had once considered an ally, and she was indirectly begging for him to help her out. 

Emma Swan had finally come across an obstacle she could not finish off herself. He realized how much this would take from her, even if it was just his name she had spoken, Hook was capable of picking up the signs; she wanted his help more than anything in the world right now. He was no hero-type, but this woman was pleading him to do something and he did not wish to disappoint her.

“Enough of this. Time’s up, Savior.” Cora sneered as the purple light in her hand started glowing more ominous. In an instant the witch shot out her hand with mighty speed and the mauve light swept through the air and straight towards Emma and the boy, prepared to take their lives.

In a desperate attempt to shield Henry, Emma pulled him behind her allowing for the magical light only to deal damage to herself. She was prepared to sacrifice herself for son.

But sacrificing herself meant dying, like Milah; Hook could not accept this choice of hers;

“No!” he bellowed in anxiety as he rushed in front of the woman and her son; swiftly drawing his sword from its scabbard, he stroke the light just as it was about to hit Emma. The blade sang upon making contact with the magical spell of Cora’s, which in turn bounced off of the steel and hit the nearby wall; burning a deep hole in it and leaving the wallpaper excessively scorched.

“Hook?” Emma whispered in astonishment, hardly able to believe that the pirate, whom she had wronged so many times in the past, had just protected her. And Henry too. She could feel tears burn behind her eyelids; in all the time she had been in Storybrooke, no, in her entire life nobody had ever done anything to protect her. Until now.

She had considered Hook a man who could not be trusted, one she should be cautious of; that’s why she had left him behind several times over. And although the tattoo on his arm, which he had obviously gotten in memory of the woman he loved, meant that he was capable of affection she was still the sealed away person she had always been. That’s why she had decided he was not one to be trusted, but in truth he was just like her; a broken soul begging for his pieces to be picked up.

And here he was, answering her prayer for rescue with absolutely no reason for all she had done to him. She had indeed wronged him marginally and now she felt herself regret every single act tenfold.

“My my, somebody’s sure getting sentimental all of a sudden,” Cora mused as she looked Hook over; the pirate, still having his sword bared, now held it in front of him ready to defend the savior, and her entire family if necessary, from Cora and her forsaken magic.

“I don’t care what you say, Cora. You are not hurting these people while I’m around.” He growled in warning, pointing his sword directly at her making sure she would not get any closer.

Cora simply stared at her former ally with a blank expression, as if to try to comprehend that she had now indeed made him an enemy of hers. That’s when a smile spread across her painted lips;

“Really now?” she asked in amusement, slightly cocking her head to the side in curiosity. 

“Absolutely,” Hook retorted, not letting her sudden superior display of words get to him. He still held his sword high, from where he stood the tip of the blade was pointed directly at the elderly woman’s forehead, prepared to pierce her skull if required.

“So, as long as you’re around I’m not getting to the Swan girl?” she asked, beginning to walk to and fro like a caged animal, her eyes never leaving her prey; 

“I guess I’ll just have to take care of you then.” She decided out loud before her body dissolved into that distinctive violet smoke which Hook had gotten used to by now. And yet, he had not foreseen her next move. She reappeared again at once, now standing right in front of the pirate captain; her hand buried deeply within his chest.

An excruciating, yet all too familiar, pain arose from his heart where Cora’s hand was solidly clutched. She was practically digging her nails into his organ, wanting him to experience every bit of pain she could come up with before even considering to finish him off for good. She knew now she should’ve killed him a long time ago; this man, this damned pirate, had betrayed her one too many times.

“This will be the very last time you ever interfere with my plans or anything else for that matter,” she voiced her thoughts with composed rage, though rage nonetheless. Nobody crossed Cora Mills without being taught a lesson first and with that, she tore his heart from his chest.

Hook was vigorously gasping for air as the witch’s clutch did not seem to ease up, she was literally standing with his life in her hand once more. She studied his heart with interest; never ceasing to find her hobby, and the way she went about it, humorous. And the pirate’s heart seemed to lighten up much brighter than any heart she had ever come across before, it was indeed remarkable, she mused.

Emma was frozen in place, watching the scenery play out in front of her; this despicable woman who called herself Queen of Hearts didn’t seem to have any remorse in her miserable life, and somehow Emma found herself pitying Cora for her pathetic action. She knew very well Cora was capable of, and intended to, take Hook’s life in a matter of seconds and she realized she had to act quickly for this not to happen.  
She couldn’t just let him die here and now after what he had just done to save her, she would need to repay him somehow. Perhaps it was from having gotten used to making deals with, and owing favours to, Mr. Gold that had caused this event to occur, but Emma couldn’t just sit idly by as her rescuer got his heart crushed because of her.

“Henry, stay with David and Mary Margaret.” She told the boy in a low voice, trying to sound reassuring as she sent him a faint smile; the kid nodded, seeming to trust his birth mother and quickly walked over to his grandparents who stood further away from the chaotic scenery.

After having confirmed Henry’s safety, Emma marched up to stand before Cora and Hook, feeling she had regained her integrity once again;

“Cora!” she spoke out loud in a demanding voice, she still held onto the sword but her hand was no longer trembling around its hilt. The elderly woman whipped her head around to look at the savior with a bored expression;

“Not now, my dear. Your turn will come, don’t worry.” She simply stated, about to turn her eyes back on Hook before Emma cut her off;

“Release him this instant!” Emma inquired sharply.

Cora shared a quick look with her daughter before letting out a mocking snigger;

“Now, why would I do that?” she asked, lightly ceasing the pressure of Hook’s heart, causing the pirate to ease up a little himself but not much, she still wanted him to know that he was balancing between life and death.

“Well,” Emma started, not exactly having thought of a good reason why. She couldn’t exactly say “because I say so” or “because I love him”. She swallowed a lump in her throat upon this thought; was she actually in love with this man? Was that what had driven her to stand up to Cora right now, she plundered.

“How about this;” Cora suddenly interrupted her stream of thoughts, now having fully turned her attention to Emma whilst Hook still stood next to her, obviously in pain.

“You give me your life and in addition to that I will spare his.” She suggested with a cold smirk.

Emma stood completely still upon hearing this proposition, she hadn’t been prepared for this at all. Making deals with Mr. Gold was one thing, sacrificing your life for somebody else’s was a whole different matter. And the question was; was she even prepared to do this?

Her eyes travelled from Cora to Hook. He seemed to have somewhat regained his breath, rubbing his sore chest with his hand and gritting his teeth still. But his eyes were fixated on her, he had seen him plead her once before to spare his life and to not abandon him. This wasn’t the same type of pleading; this was the pleading of not sacrificing her own life to save his.

“Well, Emma? Which is it? Your life in exchange for his or-“ Cora trailed off as her eyes travelled to meet Emma’s family, only to receive stern glares from both David and Mary Margaret, the latter clutching onto Henry in a protective manner; should Regina, who had stood still during this entire ordeal, decide to make a move.

Emma looked to her family, realizing she would lose them all; her father, her mother and her son, should she choose to help the man she claimed to have fallen in love with. But if she didn’t, this would be just another Graham. Another man whom she was unable to save. She could not afford to do that.

“Deal.” She answered bluntly, glaring back at Cora with serious eyes.

Cora looked to her again, sincere astonishment written all over her face at Emma’s answer. She had to admit, she did not expect the Swan girl to agree to her terms, yet here she was giving up her life freely.

“No!” Mary Margaret pleaded in distress, not wishing to lose her daughter again, and this time for good. David gently squeezed his wife’s shoulder in his hand, trying to give her comfort although he was equally horrified by their daughter’s decision. And what of Henry? The boy stared at her mother in disbelief, he was on the brim of a breakdown, that much was already evident; the mere thought of watching his mother die was just too distressing.

Hook himself was filling up with shock as he simply stared at Emma; he could not believe what he was hearing, she was actually going to sacrifice herself for him. He felt his heart beat faster, although it rested in Cora’s palm, it still managed to skip a beat and quicken its pace all the same. He even thought its colour had slightly lightened.

“I’m sorry. I have to do this.” Emma said in a somber voice as she looked towards her parents and then to Henry, whose nose was swollen from the tears that were now running down his cheeks and his eyes had turned red with sadness. Words were now insufficient, Emma realized but she did have one good reason left to do what she was now going to;

“I think, I love him.” The words came over her lips as a faint whisper but nevertheless reached her parents’ ears all the same. Both looked at her in astonishment but neither spoke a single word. They, of all people in the world, would know of true love and its sacrifices. They had to accept her choice; she comforted herself as she closed in on Cora to allow the witch to deal the finishing blow this time around.

“Emma,” this time it was Hook that spoke, his voice a low whisper “Look at me,” he pleaded, still rubbing his sore chest.

Emma obeyed his wish and turned her head to him, she found herself staring straight into his sea-blue eyes; the urge to save his life building up inside of her body.

“Don’t do this,” he begged her with most sincerity, something she hadn’t seen since their time by the beanstalk right before Emma left him behind. She felt her heart ache with concern for his well-being upon recognizing the look he gave her. Even though he didn’t want her to, she wished now more than anything to save his life. Then to heck with what happened to her, she figured stubbornly.

She was just about to speak when suddenly Cora interrupted again, clutching the pirate’s heart tighter in her palm;

“Stay out of this, Hook.” She warned as the captain collapsed on the floor, writhing in pain at the witch’s action.

“Stop it!” Emma inquired, glaring angrily at Cora.

The elderly woman turned to face her again, sending her yet another smirk;

“I suppose you are right, my dear.” She spoke in an almost calm voice, quickly switching between moods, and her clutch eased up yet again. To Hook these actions were like torture, he would much rather die himself than let that witch toy with him, or Emma for that matter.

“Then get to it,” Emma frowned, eying Hook’s heart in Cora’s hand “You will see to it that he gets his heart back once you’ve done your job.”

“Why, of course. Once I’ve gotten rid of you, I will give him his heart back fair and square.” Cora vowed with a grin.

Emma nodded in agreement before taking one last deep breath, bracing herself for whatever might come next.

Cora eyed her one last time, realizing the Swan girl really was serious in her act, then she raised her other hand preparing a magic spell;

“Since I am unable to take your heart, I guess I’ll just have to find another way of destroying it.” She figured out loud, studying the dark spell in her palm with great interest.

Emma recalled Cora not succeeding in taking her heart when they were about to leave the Fairytale Realm, which made for quite the debate; was there a way for her to get killed by magic? Either way, Cora would make sure to find out now, she realized regretfully.

David watched in horror as Cora prepared to murder his daughter, he held Mary Margaret close to him, realizing his wife would be on the brim of a collapse once this deal was done. She in turn had pulled Henry closer yet, shielding his head with her hand, not letting her grandchild see his mother lose her life.

Regina still remained neutral on the whole matter, trying to comprehend that Emma Swan was actually giving up her life freely, this meant she could finally be with Henry and not having that pesky blonde ruin her life anymore.

Hook, on the other hand, was staring frantically up at the two women in front of him, from his spot on the floor. The memories welled up inside of him as he was unable to take his eyes off of the scenario.  
Emma gave Cora one final look, seeing the readiness in the witch’s eyes, she couldn’t help but turn away. Closing her eyes tightly, she braced herself for whatever pain might follow.

The deed was over quicker than anyone in the entire room had expected, none of them really noticed what had happened; but in an instant Emma was lying on the floor, heaving for breath as a gaping wound was now present in her chest. Apparently it would seem as though Cora’s spell had worked its magic.

As expected from her husband, Mary Margaret sank to the floor, letting out a heartbreaking scream as she laid eyes on her daughter’s broken body. The tears were streaming from her eyes as she still held her arms protectively around Henry, who was also sobbing loudly by now.

David knelt down by his wife and grandson, shielded both of them with his arms, trying at best will to comfort them. Yet there were no one to comfort him from the great loss he too felt deep within his heart. Prince Charming and Snow White had this time around lost their daughter for good.

Regina too seemed overwhelmed by the situation as she turned her eyes away from the scenery, yet she did not shed a single tear, which might’ve been expected from the woman who had slain several people in all her years.

Cora did not as much as blink as she looked down at Emma, rather a look of triumph was visible on her features. Then she turned her attention to Hook and with a quick motion of her hand, placed his heart back into his chest where it rightfully belonged.

“As promised.” She hissed at the pirate who in turn sent her a furious glare.

This had not been the reunion he had wished for. He had wanted to teach Emma a lesson but it had never involved her getting hurt, it hadn’t even involved any physical damage.

As gently as possible Hook managed to pick up Emma’s broken body and held her close in his arms. She managed to turn her head slowly towards him, looking up at him with bright eyes still. The life having not yet left them.

Tears began forming in the corners of his eyes. Tears that he had thought were long since dried up and would never make their way to his eyes, yet here they were threatening to break lose. In all his 300 years he hadn’t wept a single time over Milah, he had barely done so when Rumpelstiltskin had killed her, why was this time so different? Something about this woman, he thought, had changed him far quicker than he himself dared admit.

Emma Swan, the savior of the entire fairy realm, the Swan girl; she had miraculously opened his mind as well as his heart, and he had somehow allowed her entrance. At the beginning Hook had only considered their relationship, if it could even be called that, a mere flirt. Something that would end as swiftly as it had begun. A mere fraud to make himself in a better mood; to make himself believe, if briefly, he could ever love again. Yet still, that was not the case. 

This had taken an 180 degree turn in every direction he hadn’t imagined; the woman he was now holding in his arms; the woman who had abandoned him, tied him up and knocked him out cold several times over a few weeks, was now the reason he could feel his heart start beating frantically in his chest.

He was afraid to lose her like he had lost Milah, his past one true love. But this was the present, Milah was long gone no matter how hurtful the thought, and maybe Emma Swan was meant to be his new true love.  
His lips curled into a panic-stricken frown as Emma’s face was starting to grow pale and her eyes seemed to wander around the room aimlessly, but somehow always seemed to come back to him as if searching his face for something. Although what, he could not say for sure.

An answer maybe, or perhaps the silly lie that; ‘everything was going to be alright’, one which he had failed to tell Milah three centuries ago. His heart was aching stronger than ever, his jaw was beginning to hurt due to his gritted teeth. He held onto the blonde woman in a protective manner, should that damned witch even consider making another move to harm her. He would make sure that she would not get far, if he had to cut her into a million pieces, he swore mentally that he would not let Cora anywhere near Emma.

He glared up at the wicked woman, rage burning deep within his eyes. She returned his glare with a mixture of amusement for daring to, so openly, challenge her and yet he also spotted insecurity in them too. The insecurity that, whatever would happen next, might actually cost her more than she was prepared to forfeit herself. He grunted angrily, she had good reason to feel uneasy; this time, Captain Hook would not be nearly as forgiving as he had been in the past.

“Hook,” a faint whisper came from Emma, as she tried to reach his face with a quivering hand. He turned his head towards her instantly and gave a saddened look, this was all too familiar, he could hardly bear it.  
A faint whimper escaped his throat as he tenderly took hold of her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“I’m sorry.” She continued “I had to-“

“Don’t.” he cut in, never letting go of her hand “Don’t say it, please.”

He felt his heart race quickly in his chest, desperate to somehow save this woman; the woman who claimed that she was in love with him. Perhaps, he actually had fallen for her too. But having to admit it this way just wasn’t fair; he could hardly bear to think the three little words.

“Emma, I-“ he started but this time it was she who cut him off.

She managed to lightly squeeze his hand and sent him a dim smile as the colour started leaving her cheeks.

“I know.” She simply stated as a single tear left her eye and made its way down her face.

He gently wiped it away with his fingertips, staring into her hazel eyes with great affection and equally great distress. He realized she already knew how she felt for her in return, that was enough for him.

Emma heaved a small sigh and suddenly started to hum, although a bit hoarse due to her large wound. Hook was left baffled, in her final moments the Swan girl decided it would be appropriate to hum. Emma simply smiled up at him, wishing to comfort him with the tune.

However, none other than Snow White and Prince Charming realized that the very song their daughter was now humming was one her mother had once hummed; the very day she was born in fact. 

Their hearts ached with nostalgia and grief for their daughter. It was only a matter of time now before the humming would still forever and Emma Swan would be no more.

Truly, a Swan song.


End file.
